Author Archives: Bok

Fidel Castro finally got term limited. He died at age 90. Not a bad run considering he took power in 1959. Castro’s long reign outlasted 10 U.S. presidents. He retired in 2008.

Ben Domenech at The Federalist thinks Castro’s big mistake was joining the wrong team – the Soviet Union. Another mistake may have been stealing U.S. owned businesses in Cuba. That led to the Bay of Pigs invasion, the U.S. embargo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and oddball assassination attempts.

Castro’s Long Reign

Many world leaders treated Castro as a normal public official. MaClean’s thinks Justin Trudeau went from being the most interesting man in the world to “international laughingstock” with his Castro eulogy. Just for laughs, here it is:

“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President. “Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation. “While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for “el Comandante”. “I know my father was very proud to call him a friend and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away. It was also a real honour to meet his three sons and his brother President Raúl Castro during my recent visit to Cuba. “On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and many, many supporters of Mr. Castro. We join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.”

Prisoners of History Narrative

John Kerry thinks the U.S. and Cuba were ‘”prisoners of history.” Maybe he had a mind meld with White House narrative boy Ben Rhodes. Rhodes told The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg, “America sometimes makes itself a prisoner of our own history. We have a very complicated history with Cuba.”

FBI Director Comey recommended that Hillary not be prosecuted by the Justice Department. But he presented her case on national TV anyway. A verdict was rendered on election day. Hillary was convicted in the court of public opinion. Her sentence was loss of the White House.

Brandon Victor Dixon spoke vice president to vice president to Mike Pence last Friday night. Dixon plays Aaron Burr in the Broadway hit “Hamilton”. In real life Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

Pence was in the audience. Unarmed.

At the curtain call Dixon thanked Pence for coming to the show. Then offered some advice about the diverse people in America:

“…who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us . . . or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us.”

He was polite but it was maybe a little condescending. A NY Post editorial said, “The words were perfectly respectful — but the implication was downright rude.”

Pence

Pence didn’t seem to mind. He said he wasn’t offended and that Trump meant it when he promised to be president of all the people.

“But my hope is he does not simply take a realpolitik approach and suggest that … if we just cut some deals with Russia, even if it hurts people or even if it violates international norms or even if it leaves smaller countries vulnerable, or creates long-term problems in regions like Syria, that we just do whatever’s convenient at the time.”